By Faith: Moses Part 2

June 26^th – Hebrews 11:27-28

Good morning everyone. I do really love being able to dig deeply into God’s word, so I’m happy to be here again getting to share the word of God with each of you. If you’d like to follow along in the pew bibles or on your cellular devices, please do. Before we get into the word today, let’s pray

If I asked you what your greatest fear would be, what would you say? Although not necessarily the most reasonable greatest fear, possibly the first large fear that comes to mind would be spiders, or snakes, or darkness. // Not to say that those things aren’t scary. But in reality, they don’t actually pose a great threat on our lives, especially in Canada. In Canada we have one poisonous snake the Massasauga Rattler that has only caused a handful of deaths ever, and our most poisonous spider the Fiddleback or Brown Recluse spider lives in less disturbed areas, doesn’t like to interact with humans and will only bite if pressed against the skin, even so it will rarely cause more than a rash. And darkness? I’m sure you’ve experienced winter in Ottawa, but worse so winter in the Yukon. More dangerous in reality is running into a bear at a campsite (maybe 500 attacks, ~50 deaths), frostbite and hypothermia, or accidentally colliding with a deer on a highway (thousands of deaths) or driving in general which takes about 2500 deaths each year in accidents. These things all boil down to some extent to a fear of death, which to a degree is a good thing, it keeps you alive. Aside from fear of things that could kill you, what are you scared of? Scared of poverty? Scared of letting others down? Scared of suffering? Scared of death of your loved ones? Fear of the unknown? Is there anything scarier than those things and scarier than death? This is where we are going today as we continue our study in Hebrews 11.

Briefly, the context of the book of Hebrews. It was a letter written to Hebrew Christians as they fall out of favour in the eyes of the Romans. To remain as Christians they would lose much and face suffering. So they were greatly tempted to go back to Judaism for safety and security since it was an officially recognised religion. They were tempted to turn back to what they knew. But through faith, the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, the author is encouraging them to persevere. Heb 2:1-3 “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”

Hebrews 11 that we have been going through this summer is a list of many examples of that faith lived out, persevering even though they did not receive the things promised, but only saw them and greeted them from afar. Last week we looked at the first part of the faith of Moses in verses 24-26. The author of Hebrews through the example of faith was encouraging the church to persevere and not be afraid of loss and suffering. Hebrews 11:24-26 ““By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.” Moses had a willingness, he was unafraid to endure the loss of all things and suffering for the sake of being found in Christ and partaking in the promises of God. Even as the church falls out of favour and may suffer for following God, He would still be worth it. The promise of entering into His rest, of salvation through Christ, it would be worth all they lost or suffered. Hebrews 11:27-28 continues “By faith [Moses] left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.”

Today we will see more of how the author addresses that desire to turn back to Judaism, especially through Moses. We will see how faith is lived out in each of these verses: faith overcoming fear, faith overcoming wrath, and how through Christ alone we can be saved from the wrath of God.

1.                 Moses the Man of Faith

Something I have yet to ask you this week or last is this: Who was Moses? If I dropped his name with no context what would you think of? Probably the 10 Commandments? The burning bush? Parting the red sea? Writing the first 5 books in the old testament? The Prince of Egypt movie? ;P

If you were Jewish, what would you think of? ***

Now, I’m not of Jewish descent, so I can’t say for sure, but from what I’ve read it would probably be quite similar but with much more reverence since in addition to the things he did, he was also a great prophet and leader, the arbitrator between God and man through the time of Egypt and the wilderness. He was the one who gave the law that the people of God might live by it. // Moses, the man of the law.

And this is very interesting since so far in the whole book of Hebrews Moses has not been identified like that. So far through the book Moses has been mentioned as being Heb 3:2,5 “(Moses also was) faithful in all God's house … Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later” and we see that faith again in Heb 8:5 “They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” By faith he followed God’s instructions and patterns. And we see this again in Hebrews 9:19. By faith we see him leading the people in verse 3:16 as he himself was following God. Other than in Hebrews 11, Moses is only described one more time in the book as trembling, but not once was he described as a man of the law or confident in his own works. And in Hebrews 11, as we’ve seen all summer, the author points out the faith of the individuals. After today’s two verses by faith the Israelites cross the red sea. And following that by faith the walls of Jericho fell. There is no mention of the law. // Moses is described as a man of faith.

What was the purpose of the law then?

Without getting too deep into this topic today, the law was there to show our need for faith. In total Moses was given 613 laws from God covering every aspect of life from worship, to relationships, to diet and clothing, to sickness and health. In the book of Romans the reason for the law is described as follows: Rom 5:20 “Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” Rom 3:19-20 “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Rom 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. The law came to show clearly that none was able to live a righteous life by themselves, to stop any mouth that might think so. Even one disobedience led to expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden. No one was able to fulfill each of those requirements on their own strengths.

And Moses himself knew this well. As we read in Exodus 2, he had killed a man before any of the major life events we know him for. He had acted on his own to save the Israelites before God had called him to do so. Although he had a heart of faith in God’s promises and was unafraid to suffer or lose the wealth of Egypt, he had acted impatiently, and, potentially for his own glory, he had acted to become the saviour of the people.

Let’s finish our discussion of Hebrews 11 before we come back to this. Let’s finish looking at the faith of Moses the author is pointing out, but know that although Moses was the man of the law, more so he was a man of faith. The question we’ll come back to later: if Moses himself was living by faith, not the law, what does that mean for the Hebrew church who are thinking to return to Judaism and the law?

Let's look at what Moses did.

2.                 By faith Moses left Egypt not being afraid.

Verse 27 picks up right where we left off last week, ““By faith [Moses] left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.” Let’s go to Exodus to see what happened.

Exodus 2:11-15 “One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.”

But this verse raises a question the author of Hebrews says “he left Egypt, not being afraid”. It seems in Exodus that Moses is afraid of Pharaoh who plans to kill him. And so he flees to Midian, which is just to the East of Egypt’s borders. Is this verse really referring to Moses fleeing? And if so, if he wasn’t afraid, why did he flee?

Excellent questions! Again, I don’t want to spend a lot of time on this, but the answer that most people believe is that this verse is referring to the first time he leaves Egypt, not the second time with the Israelites. Some of the most convincing reasons for this is that Hebrews 11 generally follows chronological order of events (for moses he was born, he killed the Egyptian refusing to be son of Pharaoh’s daughter, he flees, he comes back, he keeps the Passover, they cross the sea, etc.). Secondly, the Greek used for ‘he left’ is singular. And more over later when they all leave they are being begged to leave by Pharaoh, they would have nothing to be afraid of or endure. For these reasons and others I have come to believe that it is more than likely referring to the first time that Moses left Egypt. So then, if it is referring to this event, how can we reconcile Exodus saying “then Moses was afraid … Moses fled” and Hebrews saying “he left Egypt, not being afraid”?

If we look to Stephen’s account in Acts 7, we find this additional information: Acts 7: 23-29 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ At [the retort of the Hebrew man] Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.” (the rest on the screen too).

God had promised to free His people after 400 years and the time was drawing near. Moses had been blessed in his miraculous adoption and all the subsequent education and power he had received. Associating with the Hebrews and knowing that their freedom was coming soon he acted to free them unafraid of loss or suffering, but was rejected by his people. There’s nothing to indicate whether God had spoken to Moses before these events and told Moses that deliverance would come through him, and it sounds like Moses was acting presumptively, supposing that his people would realize what was happening. Moses had some faith. That is what we can discern from these verses. But that still doesn’t answer our question, and somehow makes it seem that he is scared of the Hebrews.

Hebrews 11:27 “By faith [Moses] left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.”

Interestingly there is a parallel that the author of Hebrews is making here by his choice of words. Just a few verses earlier verse 23 reads “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.” Just as his parents were not afraid of the pharaoh’s edict that all male Hebrew babies were to be killed, Moses was not afraid of the pharaoh’s anger. In both cases they were willing to disobey Pharaoh in order to submit to God.

Luke 12:4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.” Concerning Kings who set themselves against God and His anointed Psa 2:4 “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.” His power and might is so much more that in comparison Isa 40:23 “[he] brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.”

It is by faith in God’s might and faithfulness to his promises that Moses’ parents and him act against the Pharaoh, and also that Moses leaves not afraid of Pharaoh, though he may be somewhat afraid. If Pharaoh really wanted to, it would have been well within his power to chase Moses and kill him. The end of Hebrews 11:27 gives further evidence for this idea that Moses is somewhat scared saying that Moses “endured as seeing him who is invisible”. By faith, Moses endured his fear of the king by setting his hope on God. And by faith trusting that God would save the Israelites in His own time even if it wasn’t by Moses’ hands.

As A.W.Pink puts it (An Exposition of Hebrews) “Faith and fear are opposites, and yet, strange to say, they are often found dwelling within the same breast; but where one is dominant the other is dormant. The constant attitude of the Christian should be, "Behold, God is my salvation: I will trust, and not be afraid" (Isa. 12:2).”

For the Hebrew church following a message to keep their eyes on God’s rewards and be unafraid of loss and suffering, this further encouragement of faith that overcomes fear would be a perfect message as they lose favour as Christians. No matter what the kings or rulers may be able to do, faith in God and His promises helps us overcome that fear. ““By faith [Moses] left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.” And in the same way, by faith we can endure as we keep our eyes set on Him who is greater than anything the world can throw at us. John 16:33 “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Psalm 16:8 “I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” God is far stronger than any ruler. When we place our faith in Him and His promises we will not be shaken.

3.                 By faith Moses kept the passover.

We see a portion of God’s strength as we read the rest of the exodus account. Acts 7:30-31 ““Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to [Moses] in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord:”  Exo 3:16-20 “Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go”

God will stretch out a mighty hand for the sake of His people. To summarize the next seven chapters of Exodus, Moses talks with God, he reluctantly goes to the Pharaoh asking for him to release his people. Pharaoh refuses making their work even harder, and then a cycle begins. Moses is told what will happen, he tells Pharaoh, Pharaoh says no, a plague comes on the egyptians, Pharaoh begs for the plague to end, the plague ends, and pharaoh’s heart becomes harder, refusing to let them go, so Moses goes to God. Rivers of blood, frogs covering the land, gnats everywhere, swarms of flies ruining the land, livestock dying*, boils and sores*, thunder and very heavy hail striking down man beast and plant*, dense swarms of locusts eating up all vegetation, and darkness for 3 days*. After all that Pharaoh still would not listen. His heart was hardened.

Exodus 9:15-16 “by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”

God is far stronger than any ruler.

God’s strength is actually terrifying. Far scarier than any spider, snakes, darkness, or even death.

A passage we’ve already read said Luke 12:4-5 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!” Jesus here says ‘fear God’. In Exodus 3, the account of the burning bush, to shorten the passage I chose only some of the verses but verse 6 says “And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” This fear is mentioned by Stephen in Acts 7:32. And the one mention of Moses in Hebrews that I skipped earlier is in verse 12:21 in reference to Exodus 19 at Mount Sinai before the 10 commandments were given Exo 19:16,18 “On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. … Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.” Hebrews 12 refers to this day and says Heb12:21 “so terrifying was the sight that Moses said “I tremble with fear.””

Could you imagine being one of the Egyptians going through these 10 plagues? Day after day some terrible thing that had never been seen in Egypt. Things that the magicians could not do. Death of your animals and fields. Darkness, pitch black darkness for 3 days. Who was this mighty God who was afflicting them?

Could you imagine being one of the Israelites? Day after day some terrible thing that had never been seen in Egypt. Things that the magicians could not do. Death of animals and fields. Darkness, pitch black darkness for 3 days. Who was this mighty God who was afflicting the Egyptians? What was stopping Him from hurting the Israelites?

Now that we’ve caught up, Hebrews 11:28 continues “By faith [Moses] kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.”

In Exodus we read Exodus 11:1,4-6 ““Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. … About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again.”

Exodus 12:3,6-7,11-13 “Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. … the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. …(how to cook and eat it)… It is the Lord's Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.”

Hebrews 11:28 “By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.”

It’s pretty interesting the way this plague is introduced. In comparison to the others, this one was wasn’t just threatened and then it happened leaving the Israelites safe as in the last 5 plagues. When livestock died, the Israelites’ livestock didn’t. When boils and sores came. The Israelites weren’t affected. When there was thunder and hail, just the region of Goshen where the Israelites were was safe. When there were 3 days of darkness, the Israelites had light. But this time the plague would affect them unless they killed a lamb. Why was their God now attacking them? “I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt”. That means everyone! But “when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you.”

Hebrews 11:1 “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

By faith Moses was assured that Exodus 6:5-8 “I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’” By faith Moses was assured of these promises they hoped for.

By faith Moses was convicted of the unseen reality. Never before had all the 1^st born children died at once. Never before were the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb for each house and put the blood on the doorpost that they would live. God’s great might and strength had been shown again and again in Egypt and now God's wrath was going to be shown through the tenth plague, the Destroyer of the firstborn.

God’s just wrath is upon all people ever since that original sin was passed down through our broken nature. People have been rejecting God, whether in small or big ways. Whether it is hardening your heart and enslaving others, or choosing selfishness and impatience over God’s plans, or lying, we have been rejecting God and His reign in our lives. This plague was not for the Egyptians alone. This one was going to come on both the Egyptians and the Israelites. A right fear of God’s awesome and terrifying power, worse than death, that was announced to be targeting all peoples. But God gave grace to the Israelites. // He made a way that they could be saved from His wrath. // If by faith they killed a spotless lamb and sprinkled the blood on the door post, they could trust God’s words and be saved.

Exo 12:27-29 “And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.” So Pharaoh told the Israelites to leave Egypt.

By faith Moses had a right fear of God, and through faith trusted in God’s words, acted accordingly so that those things which had never been seen wouldn’t affect them. He trusted in God’s strength and power and ultimate control. He obeyed by faith. His faith was seen in action. By faith Moses and the Israelites were spared. By faith and God’s timing they were leaving Egypt.

4.                 Likewise, By faith

The reality is that God’s wrath is on all people, that we too by faith as Moses said in the wilderness must choose life or death. Rom 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” Luke 13:24-28““Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.”

And this wrath is diverted by faith alone, through the blood of the spotless lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Not through works or teaching, or through being in Jesus’ presence even. When John the Baptist first saw Jesus he said John 1:29 “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 3:14-20, 36 ““as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. … Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

By faith, Moses in the wilderness lifted up a bronze serpent that the wrath of God towards the sinful, rebellious Israelites through snakes might be stopped. By faith Moses kept the Passover, an annual reminder of how God alone provided freedom for His people through faith in the sacrificial lamb of God. By faith, Moses spoke of a coming prophet like himself, of the Christ. By faith, Moses was looking to the reward. By faith Heb 3:25 “Moses was faithful in the house of God as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later.”

If Moses himself was living by faith, not the law, what does that mean for the Hebrew church who are thinking to return to Judaism and the law? // Don’t go back.

The author of Hebrews again and again throughout the book of Hebrews speaks of how Christ is far superior to the shadows that were the temple rituals, and the priesthood, and the prophets. And how to reject him would result in sure destruction. Heb 2:1-3 “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” Hebrews 10:11-12,14 “every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God … For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Through faith in the sacrificial blood of the spotless lamb of God, Jesus Christ on the cross; through faith alone in God’s provision could they be saved, overcoming any fear of loss or of suffering, overcoming any fear of unjust rulers or punishment, overcoming any fear of the wrath of God. Not through the law, but through faith in Christ alone. This message through the life of Moses and especially through the Passover would have again and again pointed to Christ who said:

John 15:5-6 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

1 John 4:15-19 “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.”

If you have not confessed Jesus as the Son of God, as the propitiatory lamb of God who has taken God’s wrath from you upon Himself; If you do not know that love expressed so perfectly through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross even while we were God’s enemies, I pray that today God would be drawing you closer to that saving faith to the gracious gift of God, salvation apart from works. For it says

Rom 3:19-26 “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Hebrews 10:19-23 “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 12:28-29 “let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

Let’s pray.